Isla – The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

Since working here, my camera roll has slowly become about 90% reindeer! So here are a few of my fav of our reindeer, getting up close and personal with them to get those super cute nose shots!

Here is the handsome Druid! This was taken last June 2024, after a Hill Trip. When we had beautiful sunny weather for the whole month. Sadly this June has not been the case 🙁

The lovely Lupin here, charging forward for some more hand feed, as you can tell by his crumby nose his head was not long out of the feed bag. This was taken last December 2023, as you can see Lupin has his beautiful fully grown bony antlers.

Elbe here, patiently waiting for some more hand feed… which is very out of character for him, usually he can be very pushy and demanding! But with a few bats of those big eyes he usually finds his way into the bag.

Baby colorado looking very cute! This was taken last autumn when he was still a calf, not long after his summer of free ranging, giving my camera a curious sniff.

Busby looking lovely as ever, taken this June, if you look closely you can see that Busby is looking a little scruffy, this is because he is moulting his thick winter coat into his much shorter darker summer coat which you can see on his legs and nose.

Busby again creeping closer to the camera!

Pretty Winnie here, posing for me up on the ridge of our hill enclosure. Taken in June this summer 2024, Winnie is doing amazing! She’s a little ray of sunshine always putting a smile on our faces!

Hemp trying to figure out if my phone is edible or not! Hemp is a very friendly boy, one of our star hand feeders on our Hill Trips! definitely one of the greediest reindeer in our herd always on the lookout for a white bag!

Cowboy posing after a sunny Hill Trip. One of the few sunny days we had this June.

Little Elbe! This was taken this summer – his antlers are looking AMAZING! They almost look too big for his small body.

Handsome Kernel going in for a camera sniff, this was last summer 2023, he’s looking very smart in his summer coat and velvet antlers!

Diamond looking very pretty! What a poser. Diamond had just recently cast her antlers in this picture. This was just before Christmas last year 2023 when we had some of our girls in the enclosure. She is having a lovely time free ranging at the moment!

Beanie here with her cute speckledy nose. This was last Autumn time 2023.

Little Sorbet posing beautifly for the camera. taken the same time as Beanie’s photo above, there had just taken themselves in from the free range asking for some extra feed.

Oatcake was also part of our lovely free ranging group last autumn.

Adzuki is in our woods here, this was last autumn 2023. The woods are just behind the Paddocks which are currently undergoing a huge refurbishment.

Isla

The first time I met the reindeer here at Cairngorm, I was just four years old and a bridesmaid at my mum’s wedding. Mum, being as extravagant as she is, decided she wanted the reindeer to pull the sleigh for us from the service to the party venue. Once we were on the sleigh I was quickly alarmed about the health and safety, as there were no seatbelts on board. Four-year-old me obviously thinking the reindeer would be flying us there! As we were just setting off, I whispered to my cousin “hold on tight, we are about to take off” but was quickly relived and slightly disappointed when I realised the reindeer would just be walking us there.

Four year old Isla – closest to the camera holding on tightly to her cousin. The reindeer is Wallace.

The sleigh firmly attached to the ground, phew!

After the wedding it then became a tradition to come and visit the reindeer before Christmas. Even adopting Elvis as a two-year-old boy and always loving getting my certificate through the post before Christmas. Elvis lived to be one of the oldest males in the herd, before sadly passing away this August at the impressive age of 17!

Elvis as a two year old bull in 2008 – the year Isla adopted him.

During the spring this year, just as I was leaving school. I went round to visit my ‘Fairy God Mother’ Sheena, one of the herders here at the Reindeer Center. After explaining to her that I wasn’t sure what to do after school and fancied a change she suggested I got in touch to see if I could work the summer here with the reindeer.

So, after a few back and forth emails (me not being the best at replying during my exams), we eventually arranged a trial day for me to come and meet some of the herders and the reindeer of course. I was pretty nervous but was instantly put at ease when greeted by Ruth and Lisette with big smiles on their faces. I was thrown right in at the deep end as my first task was going up the hill to help give one of the reindeer an injection as she had a sore foot. I quickly realised that having dogs and occasionally helping my granny muck out her horse maybe didn’t quite qualify as having experience working with animals! But I like to think I’m a quick learner. And was super eager to get stuck as I loved the idea of walking up the hills everyday to look after the herd.

After a successful trial day, I was then offered to come work the summer here at the Centre which I was super excited for! I started at the end of May, and the weather was amazing! Blue skies everyday for about a month, eventually this bubble did bust. And I then had the proper Scottish herder experience. But even in the rain I still couldn’t believe that it was my job to walk up hills and find reindeer. I even didn’t mind taking a reindeer’s temperature (let’s just say it doesn’t go in their mouths) if it meant I could spend the morning up the hill with the herd! Over the summer I learnt so many new skills and everyone was so patient with me helping me to learn about these beautiful animals.

When Isla first started it was weeks of sunshine and moulting reindeer.

It’s a tough job getting to know all the calves when they come back into the enclosure in the autumn, like wee Shannon here.

Isla this time not sitting on the sleigh but working alongside Druid and Haricot at the back of it this autumn.

Reindeer during the first decent snow of 2023.

When chatting in the office I let it slip about the reindeer being at mum’s wedding, Our resident Blog Queen Ruth was insistent that it would make the perfect Christmassy blog!

We also realised that Hen, another one of the herders here, was at the wedding as well leading the sleigh! Which is hilarious, looking back on the wedding photos we actually found one of her at the front of the sleigh! (Note from Hen: also a way to make her feel really, really old…)

I have had the best 7 months here at the Centre and have loved getting to know all the reindeer and the herders of course! I’m off for a new adventure in the New Year but I’m sure I’ll be back soon!! If they’ll have me 😉

Isla

Tag: Isla

Isla’s favourite pics!

How Isla became a reindeer herder…